Hoop cheese

Last updated

Hoop cheese is a traditional cow's milk cheese that was common in the Southern United States from the early to mid 1900s. It is still available today, although it is much less common. It is a simple cheese prepared by separating the whey from curds. Today, the American Dairy Association has no criteria in place to classify hoop cheese, although it has sometimes been referred to as a type of pot cheese.

Contents

Overview

Hoop cheese is a simple, traditional fresh cow's milk cheese, prepared by pressing curds until the whey is entirely pressed-out, leaving the final cheese product. [1] [2] [3] This involves the use of a cheese hoop, which consists of a ring with both of the ends opened, which is used to press out and separate the whey from the completed cheese, typically using cheesecloth, whereby the whey drains out through the cloth and the hoop cheese remains atop. [4] Using this preparation method, the cheese is typically pressed into rounds and then wrapped in cheesecloth or parchment paper or sealed in wax. [3] [5] Hoop cheese has been described as a "truly low-fat" product. [6] It has a firm, but not hard, consistency, and has been described as being similar to farmer cheese [lower-alpha 1] and as having a creamy texture. [2] In contemporary times, it is sometimes packaged with a coating of red wax. [2]

Hoop cheese can be difficult to find commercially in some areas of the United States, [1] [7] due to the difficulty of automating the manufacturing process and because it has a short shelf life. [3] It used to be a common cheese product in the Southern United States in the early to mid 1900s. [3] Today, it can still be found at some roadside stands, small restaurants, grocers, farmers markets and independent gas stations in the Southern United States. [2] [8] [3]

Classification

Today, the American Dairy Association has no criteria or standards in place to define what specifically constitutes hoop cheese. [9] A 1915 Department Reports of the State of New York entry characterized hoop cheese as a type of pot cheese. [5]

History

A computing cheese cutter manufactured by the Computing Cheese Cutter Company, Incorporated, Anderson, Indiana, USA. Patented May 23, September 26, 1903 ComputingCheeseCutter.jpg
A computing cheese cutter manufactured by the Computing Cheese Cutter Company, Incorporated, Anderson, Indiana, USA. Patented May 23, September 26, 1903

As an example of its commercial production, hoop cheese was mass-produced in the 1910s in Otsego County, New York and shipped along with farmer cheese to New York on the New York Central Railroad. [5] During this time period hoop and farmer cheeses were packed in cans and boxes in 100-pound increments. [5] Hoop cheese was also packed for commercial transport in this manner through the 1920s in New York state. [10]

Hoop cheese was once so common that a device called a hoop cheese cutter was manufactured and used in general stores during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. [11] The hoop cheese cutter was patented in 1905 in the United States and resembled a turntable with a knife blade suspended above it. [12] It was built by scale companies of the period to cut to order the exact amount of cheese a customer wanted. [13]

Similar foods

Hoop cheese is different from farmer cheese in that farmer cheese is made with milk, cream, and salt, while hoop cheese is made from milk alone. [14]

See also

Notes

  1. "The nearest thing to it is farmer cheese, but that, of course, varies from one part of the country to another." [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheddar cheese</span> Type of relatively hard English cheese

Cheddar cheese is a natural cheese that is relatively hard, off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting. Cheddar originates from the English village of Cheddar in Somerset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mozzarella</span> Type of semi-soft Italian cheese

Mozzarella is a southern Italian cheese traditionally made from Italian buffalo's milk by the pasta filata method.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cottage cheese</span> Type of cheese

Cottage cheese is a curdled milk product with a mild flavor and a creamy, non-homogeneous, soupy texture. It is made from skimmed milk by draining curds, but retaining some of the whey and keeping the curds loose. An important step in the manufacturing process distinguishing cottage cheese from other fresh cheeses is the adding of a "dressing" to the curd grains, usually cream, which is largely responsible for the taste of the product. Cottage cheese is not aged.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curd</span> Dairy product

Curd is obtained by coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet, a culture, or any edible acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar, and then allowing it to coagulate. The increased acidity causes the milk proteins (casein) to tangle into solid masses, or curds. Milk that has been left to sour will also naturally produce curds, and sour milk cheeses are produced this way. Producing cheese curds is one of the first steps in cheesemaking; the curds are pressed and drained to varying amounts for different styles of cheese and different secondary agents are introduced before the desired aging finishes the cheese. The remaining liquid, which contains only whey proteins, is the whey. In cow's milk, 90 percent of the proteins are caseins. Curds can be used in baking or may be consumed as a snack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mascarpone</span> Italian cream cheese

Mascarpone is a soft Italian acid-set cream cheese. It is recognized in Italy as a prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale (PAT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mizithra</span> Greek sheep or goat cheese

Mizithra or myzithra is a Greek whey cheese or mixed milk-whey cheese from sheep or goats, or both. It is sold both as a fresh cheese, similar to Italian ricotta, and as a salt-dried grating cheese, similar to Italian ricotta salata. The ratio of milk to whey usually is 7 to 3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheese curd</span> Fried cheese

Cheese curds are moist pieces of curdled milk, eaten either alone or as a snack, or used in prepared dishes. They are consumed throughout the northern United States and Canada. Notably, cheese curds are popular in Quebec, as part of the dish poutine, and in Wisconsin and Minnesota where they can be served breaded and deep fried. Curds are sometimes referred to as "squeaky cheese" or crottes de fromage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheesecloth</span> Loosely woven carded cotton cloth used primarily in cooking and cheesemaking

Cheesecloth is a loose-woven gauze-like carded cotton cloth used primarily in cheesemaking and cooking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leyden cheese</span> Semi-hard Dutch cows milk cheese with cumin and caraway

Leyden, from Dutch: Leidse kaas, is a semi-hard, cumin and caraway seed flavoured cheese made in the Netherlands from cow's milk. It is made both in factories and on farms, historically in the Leiden area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cream cheese</span> Soft, mild-tasting cheese with a high fat content

Cream cheese is a soft, usually mild-tasting fresh cheese made from milk and cream. Stabilizers such as carob bean gum and carrageenan are often added in industrial production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colby cheese</span> American semi-hard cheese

Colby is a semi-hard orange cheese made from cow's milk. It is named after the city of Colby, Wisconsin, US, where it was first developed in 1885 and quickly became popular.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheesemaking</span> Craft of making cheese

Cheesemaking is the craft of making cheese. The production of cheese, like many other food preservation processes, allows the nutritional and economic value of a food material, in this case milk, to be preserved in concentrated form. Cheesemaking allows the production of the cheese with diverse flavors and consistencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paneer</span> Type of fresh cheese commonly used in Indian subcontinental cuisine

Paneer, also known as ponir, is a fresh acid-set cheese common in the Indian subcontinent made from full-fat buffalo milk or cow milk. It is a non-aged, non-melting soft cheese made by curdling milk with a fruit- or vegetable-derived acid, such as lemon juice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queso blanco</span> Any of a variety of white cheeses produced in Latin America

Queso blanco, literally white cheese in Spanish, can refer to many different kinds of cheeses whose only common trait is their white color. The specific cheese referred to depends on the region.

The manufacture of Cheddar cheese includes the process of cheddaring, which makes this cheese unique. Cheddar cheese is named for the village of Cheddar in Somerset in South West England where it was originally manufactured. The manufacturing of this cheese has since spread around the world and thus the name has become generically known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Époisses</span> French soft cheese

Époisses, also known as Époisses de Bourgogne, is a legally demarcated cheese made in the village of Époisses and its environs, in the département of Côte-d'Or, about halfway between Dijon and Auxerre, in the former duchy of Burgundy, France, from agricultural processes and resources traditionally found in that region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strained yogurt</span> Yogurt thickened by draining whey

Strained yogurt, Greek yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt, or kerned yogurt is yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than normal unstrained yogurt, while still preserving the distinctive sour taste of yogurt. Like many types, strained yogurt is often made from milk enriched by boiling off some water content, or by adding extra butterfat and powdered milk. In Europe and North America, it is often made from low-fat or fat-free cow's milk. In Iceland, a similar product named skyr is made.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheese</span> Curdled milk food product

Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk. During production, milk is usually acidified and either the enzymes of rennet or bacterial enzymes with similar activity are added to cause the casein to coagulate. The solid curds are then separated from the liquid whey and pressed into finished cheese. Some cheeses have aromatic molds on the rind, the outer layer, or throughout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quark (dairy product)</span> Acid-set cheese

Quark or quarg is a type of fresh dairy product made from milk. The milk is soured, usually by adding lactic acid bacteria cultures, and strained once the desired curdling is achieved. It can be classified as fresh acid-set cheese. Traditional quark can be made without rennet, but in modern dairies small quantities of rennet are typically added. It is soft, white and unaged, and usually has no salt added. It is traditional in the cuisines of Baltic, Germanic and Slavic-speaking countries as well as amongst Ashkenazi Jews and various Turkic peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jāņi cheese</span>

Jāņi cheese is a Latvian sour milk cheese, traditionally eaten on Jāņi, the Latvian celebration of the summer solstice. Nowadays the cheese has become one of the symbols of Latvian culture.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Thomas, A. (2014). The Vegetarian Epicure. The Vegetarian Epicure. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 192. ISBN   978-0-8041-7055-0 . Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Roy, J.; Roy, C. (2016). Biscuit Head: New Southern Biscuits, Breakfasts, and Brunch. Voyageur Press. p. 88. ISBN   978-0-7603-5045-4 . Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Kosak, Andrée (October 11, 2019). "Hoop Cheese: A Brief History of a Forgotten Southern Tradition". Southern Distinction Magazine. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  4. Leverentz, J.R. (2010). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cheese Making. THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE. DK Publishing. p. 154. ISBN   978-1-101-19782-0 . Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 New York (State) (1915). Department Reports of the State of New York. J.B. Lyon. p. 248-250. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  6. The New Wellness Encyclopedia. Houghton Mifflin Company. 1995. p. 183. ISBN   978-0-395-73345-5 . Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  7. Bon Appétit. Bon Appétit Publishing Corporation. 1986. p. 104. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  8. Poland, T.; Rogers, A. (2018). South Carolina Country Roads: Of Train Depots, Filling Stations & Other Vanishing Charms. History Press. p. 55. ISBN   978-1-4671-3886-4 . Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  9. Vegetarian Times. Active Interest Media, Inc. December 1993. p. 91. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  10. Butter, D.; Ahmad, S. (1929). Topography and Statistics of Southern Districts of Awadh. IAD oriental (reprint) series. Idarah-i Adabiyat-i Dellis. p. 89-92. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  11. Fox, W.P. (1998). South Carolina - Off the Beaten Path: A Guide to Unique Places. G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Globe Pequot Press. ISBN   978-0-7627-0277-0 . Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  12. "US856389A - Computing cheese-cutter". Google Patents. March 22, 1905. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  13. Colorado Historical Society (1965). The Colorado Magazine. State Historical and Natural History Society of Colorado, State Museum. p. 50. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  14. "Cheese 101: Southern Cheese Worth Seeking Out". Serious Eats. Retrieved 2022-06-12.